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I am Treasurer for two clubs. One is a nonprofit 501(c) 7. Whomever donates to that club needs to know their donation is not tax deductible. If donations are received by the club, they are listed as such on the federal and state tax returns as donations. So far, there have been no donations to this club during my 5-year tenure as Treasurer preparing tax returns for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

The other club is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 -- not an easy classification to get from the IRS. Donations to nonprofit 501(c)3 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE by the donors. The club has received donations. All donations received during my tenure as Treasurer have been listed as such on the club's federal and state tax returns. I just finished the tax returns for both clubs. They were mailed yesterday.

Most people think that if a club is a nonprofit, any donation to the club is tax deductible. Nope. The club has to have applied for and been granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS. All nonprofit clubs receive an IRS determination letter which states their status. Usually retriever clubs are 501(c) 7 or 501(c)4 so the chances are that most retriever clubs have one of these designations. I am told that few (darn few) have 501(c)3 status.

If the nonprofit club operates financially on the calendar year, federal and state tax returns are due May 15.

If you can't find your club's IRS determination letter, contact them to find out what your club's nonprofit status is and order a copy of the determination letter. It is a very important document that should be retained in the club's important papers files and passed on when officers change. In my case, these important documents are maintained by the Treasurer because it is the Treasurer who files tax returns every year. The tax returns require that the nonprofit status be stated on page 1 of both federal and state returns. When a club is a 501(c)3 in California, the preparer also has prepare and file Schedule A with the state return. I don't know what requirements other states might have, but CA requires Schedule A.